OUT OF TIME , barry allen✔️

23. An argument

I looked around, teleporting myself from roof to roof as I was being followed by a dark haired woman in a dark suit. "Guys! I don't know how much longer I can do this!" I spoke and heard Cisco stammering words into the comms. "Cisco!" I yelled distressed. "I- Jump and then- No, wait! Teleport onto the-" I sighed as I turned around to face the speedster. "Too late." I whispered.

"Who are you? What do you want from me?" I asked as I eyed the suit. "It is a shame you don't recognize me, Zoe... After all, we are both the same." The woman whispered, her voice distorded, the hood of her suit deep in her face. Suddenly, she turned around and then disappeared into thin air.  I sighed and frowned at the same time before I jumped off the building, teleporting myself back to Star Labs. "Holy schrap! Did you just face Mania?" Quickly, she put her hands on her mouth as Nora seemed like she did a mistake.

"Mania?" Cisco asked and we all came together. "She, um, is basically one of the very few metas that no one ever caught or even interacted with. And so many tried. The Legends, Supergirl, the Green Arrow, even the League. But no one was successful. She's always on the run, never leaves any traces behind and she's way too clever." Nora explained and the team looked at eachother. "Well, that's a great start." Cisco sighed. "There is one more thing. Mania is way too early. She- she was seen for the first time in 2025." Nora said and when I looked over to Barry, he ran his hand through his hair and sighed. "So, this is the outcome of you travelling back in time..." I said and Nora looked guilty while she nodded.

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"Did she ever work with someone?" Barry asked, as I sat down and Nora shook her head. "Guys." I said, but was ignored. "No. She was always alone. At least that is what she made it look like." Nora said and my eyes flashed silver. "Hey! Zoe wants one meal without talking about the bad guys." Storm blurted out angrily and Barry and Nora stayed quiet after this. The three of us finished dinner and after we cleaned the kitchen, Nora went into the guest room that was now hers and Barry followed me quietly into the bedroom.

"Zoe. Are you okay?" He asked and I nodded. "Of course." I whispered. Suddenly, I felt his arms around me, turning me around to him. I was forced to look up to him and sighed. "Don't- Don't you think..." I stammered and inhaled a deep breath that I exhaled when I sat down on my bed. Barry sat down next to me and took my hands in his. "Don't you think that Nora has been here for too long? She- she already altered the timeline. We now have a villain we cannot defeat." Barry sighed and looked down before he spoke. "She's our daughter, Zoe-" "Yeah, she is. I know that. But this is also not her time. I get that you act that way, but you're the one who should know what I am talking about. You've time travelled before. You know what it does." I spoke and got up from the bed.

Barry now frowned and rose to his feet after me. "You don't get to do that, Zoe. You may have asked around about all the things the Team and I did, but you don't get to use that in an argument against me." Barry said and probably for the first time I'm seeing him angry. "Nora is here because she wanted to get to know me. Us. We both may not get to see more of her in the future than now." He said and his voice remained calm but his face was anything but. "Nora loathes me, Barry! Whatever I will become in the future, it makes her hate me now. And as long as she does, I can't be here." I said and felt tears filling my eyes. Barry tried to grab my hand but I already teleported myself back to Star Labs. I went into the time vault and slid down at the wall. "Good evening, Zoe Black-Al-" "Stop it, Gideon! Just- just show me. What will become of me? Me, not Storm." I asked with a thick voice and tears streaming down my face. "After Storm gets seperated from you, you leave with a recorded video message. Do you want me to play it?" Gideon said and I got up from the ground. "Yes." I said, wiping the tears from my face.

Then a video opened and showed me, a brown haired Zoe with teary blue eyes. "Hey, guys... I thought about a lot of things and I came to the conclusion that with- with Barry gone... that I can't be here anymore. I will leave Central City with Nora and try not to look back. You guys were the reason I became Storm but with Barry gone, I just don't think I can even function as Zoe anymore. Cisco was right though. Storm is completely gone. And it feels like she's never coming back, so I will take that chance to start a new life. Leaving my old one behind. The only wish I have is for you not to come looking for Nora and me. This... this will be all, I think. Oh and one more thing, I love you Team- Flash. I will always have you in my heart." My future version said and I realized something. "Gideon, play again at the mention of Cisco." I said and the video reversed and when it played again, I saw something in the eyes of my future version. "Gideon, what is this? In- in my eyes." I asked. Gideon zoomed in on the blue eyes. Now I saw it. Silver crystals surrounding my irises. "It appears Storm was not completely gone at the time." Gideon said.

"Gideon wasn't supposed to let you see that." A distorded voice said right behind me. "It's you." I chuckled as my eyes flashed and Gideon disappeared. "Not quite." The distorded voice said behind me and I turned around.
The vault was empty.